they met outside a café. The benches outside were swarming with people smoking and drinking, laughing and moving about. It was colourful, bright and had a hectic sense of relaxation. She was smoking a hand rolled cigarette, and was looking the other way down the road as he approached. Her long black hair tapered to a point half way down her back and was every now and now shifting from the light wind with a few strands caught up in the air. She had thick heavy hair he smiled to himself. He could see, even from behind that she was waiting, expecting, he could tell by the way she held her shoulders and smoked her cigarette in quick nervous puffs, almost pneumatically. She jumped slightly as he touched her shoulder saying “heya”
“oo”, she recovered “I think you’re late?”
“let me see that” he said pointing at her watch.
“there” she said with a feigned triumph, “you see five minutes late”
“ oh no my dear” he said also with a feigned emphasis, looking at the clock tower behind her, “its slow, which means that you are late as well…”
“ah” she exclaims again with a mock horror and she’s grinning – “anyway, my love, how are you”
“not as good, haven’t seen you for an age, wherever have you been darling? I missed you.”
“good, but I’ve been here…”
“here, here? Really, I’ve passed this way by ‘here’ so many times and I never once saw you!”
“not here here, I mean here in the city, I’ve not been away.”
“yes, I know just teasing”
“as ever..” she said smiling coyly.
“so what have you been doing then anyway, off on another one of your feminist tantrums I bet.”
“feminist tantrums!!” she says holding back a smile, “feminist tantrums, you know I don’t do tantrums, I just don’t do them!” she said inflating herself and pouting her lips devilishly, “tantrums, I’ve never had tantrums…”
“I mean exclusively seeing your lady friends, spending all your time theorising over cups of bloody mochas and …”
“mochas! I don’t do mochas, lattes dear, I do lattes,
“of course you do, sorry”
“and anyway, that would make two of us, for no doubt you’ve been seeing plenty of your lady friends too,”
“oh, ok, you win, but..”
“and anyway, a latte is so much better than that gutter water lager you are always drinking…”
“ok, but what have you been up to?”
“ah well, a bit of that then I guess,” then smiling hard and more seductively “well, that’s exactly what I have been doing, spending all my time with lovely ladies of leisure, mmm” she said licking her lips deliberately and throwing the cigarette down in a flurry of hair and turning, “and wouldn’t you just love to know what all us ladies do after we’ve finished our lattes..”
“well yes, actually I would..”
“well I am afraid that that’s a secret, ladies’ pact, but what else am I to do if you simply disappear for weeks at a time…”
“me, oh I’ve been very busy, and I knew you girls were up to your feminist tricks again..”
“busy, ha, I know what your busy means…”
still laughing they embrace tightly “I’ve missed you” he said, then suddenly she squeals as he pinches her behind,
“yes, I know what you have been missing my dear, “
“mm,” he says innocently looking down, “oh yes, I’ve been missing them too…”
they walk into the café laughing, arms about each others’ waists.
Some time later, as he spilled out of a busy late night club with the rest of the people, he saw her, stumbling out among the crowd.
“hey cat” he called out to her, “how are you?”
she turned slowly, narrowing her eyes to recognise him and then hissed “you bastard, fuck off.”
“what?” he said dumbly, “wait a second babe..”
“you bastard” she said over her shoulder as she began to walk away, but he caught her by the wrist, it was thin and soft in his grip, “what’s up, hey, what’s ..”
“you bastard, I loved you, I though you loved me, leave me alone you bastard..”
she broke free and went to run across the road but he pulled her back again just before she went into a taxi driving past, “taxi.” She shouted, “taxi, fucking taxi..”, it didn’t stop, “oh fuck you then.. fuck you..”
“what’s wrong?” he is asking,
“I’m leaving,” she said defiantly, “I’m leaving in two days and then you’ll never see me again, o.k., now leave me alone.,” but she was beginning to cry, the thought of leaving her alone did streak across his mind but her tears were real enough and so he pulled her and held her closer to him, she nuzzled her wet face in his shoulder, still whispering bastard, you bastard, bastard, then suddenly she broke free, he made no effort to stop her this time, he understood, and just stood and watched her stumble half run down the road until she disappeared into the crowd again, but at the last moment she turned to him and mouthed the words you bastard one more time, he understood., she was gone.
love and poison are the two roses red and white:
but in the end nothing of them will be left
for love is but a form of innocent theft,
and poison, in all its naked and intoxicating arts
tastes sweetest, only, to the unbroken heart…
“oo”, she recovered “I think you’re late?”
“let me see that” he said pointing at her watch.
“there” she said with a feigned triumph, “you see five minutes late”
“ oh no my dear” he said also with a feigned emphasis, looking at the clock tower behind her, “its slow, which means that you are late as well…”
“ah” she exclaims again with a mock horror and she’s grinning – “anyway, my love, how are you”
“not as good, haven’t seen you for an age, wherever have you been darling? I missed you.”
“good, but I’ve been here…”
“here, here? Really, I’ve passed this way by ‘here’ so many times and I never once saw you!”
“not here here, I mean here in the city, I’ve not been away.”
“yes, I know just teasing”
“as ever..” she said smiling coyly.
“so what have you been doing then anyway, off on another one of your feminist tantrums I bet.”
“feminist tantrums!!” she says holding back a smile, “feminist tantrums, you know I don’t do tantrums, I just don’t do them!” she said inflating herself and pouting her lips devilishly, “tantrums, I’ve never had tantrums…”
“I mean exclusively seeing your lady friends, spending all your time theorising over cups of bloody mochas and …”
“mochas! I don’t do mochas, lattes dear, I do lattes,
“of course you do, sorry”
“and anyway, that would make two of us, for no doubt you’ve been seeing plenty of your lady friends too,”
“oh, ok, you win, but..”
“and anyway, a latte is so much better than that gutter water lager you are always drinking…”
“ok, but what have you been up to?”
“ah well, a bit of that then I guess,” then smiling hard and more seductively “well, that’s exactly what I have been doing, spending all my time with lovely ladies of leisure, mmm” she said licking her lips deliberately and throwing the cigarette down in a flurry of hair and turning, “and wouldn’t you just love to know what all us ladies do after we’ve finished our lattes..”
“well yes, actually I would..”
“well I am afraid that that’s a secret, ladies’ pact, but what else am I to do if you simply disappear for weeks at a time…”
“me, oh I’ve been very busy, and I knew you girls were up to your feminist tricks again..”
“busy, ha, I know what your busy means…”
still laughing they embrace tightly “I’ve missed you” he said, then suddenly she squeals as he pinches her behind,
“yes, I know what you have been missing my dear, “
“mm,” he says innocently looking down, “oh yes, I’ve been missing them too…”
they walk into the café laughing, arms about each others’ waists.
Some time later, as he spilled out of a busy late night club with the rest of the people, he saw her, stumbling out among the crowd.
“hey cat” he called out to her, “how are you?”
she turned slowly, narrowing her eyes to recognise him and then hissed “you bastard, fuck off.”
“what?” he said dumbly, “wait a second babe..”
“you bastard” she said over her shoulder as she began to walk away, but he caught her by the wrist, it was thin and soft in his grip, “what’s up, hey, what’s ..”
“you bastard, I loved you, I though you loved me, leave me alone you bastard..”
she broke free and went to run across the road but he pulled her back again just before she went into a taxi driving past, “taxi.” She shouted, “taxi, fucking taxi..”, it didn’t stop, “oh fuck you then.. fuck you..”
“what’s wrong?” he is asking,
“I’m leaving,” she said defiantly, “I’m leaving in two days and then you’ll never see me again, o.k., now leave me alone.,” but she was beginning to cry, the thought of leaving her alone did streak across his mind but her tears were real enough and so he pulled her and held her closer to him, she nuzzled her wet face in his shoulder, still whispering bastard, you bastard, bastard, then suddenly she broke free, he made no effort to stop her this time, he understood, and just stood and watched her stumble half run down the road until she disappeared into the crowd again, but at the last moment she turned to him and mouthed the words you bastard one more time, he understood., she was gone.
love and poison are the two roses red and white:
but in the end nothing of them will be left
for love is but a form of innocent theft,
and poison, in all its naked and intoxicating arts
tastes sweetest, only, to the unbroken heart…
+of+Copy+of+last+roll+of+the+dice.jpg)
+of+Copy+of+man.JPG)
